Dr. Ayedh Al-Otaibi, Director of Investment Regulations & Environment at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), stated that the positive comments made by the World Trade Organization in the Report on G-20 Trade Measures regarding the Kingdom's steps to liberalize trade is a result of the collective effort by the Kingdom's government agencies to improve the overall health and growth of the business environment, in addition to ensuring the continuous expansion of the private sector.
It also reflects Saudi Arabia's adoption of an open economy.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) today, Dr. Al-Otaibi went on to state that the recent policy changes by SAGIA mentioned yesterday in the report have contributed to simplifying the process of investing in the Kingdom for more than 53 types of investments.
In addition, SAGIA launched a new service titled Fast-Track, dedicated to attracting value added investments in specific sectors to diversify the economy. These areas of development were identified through extensive research and the Fast-Track service was developed in accordance with our WTO obligations.
The World Trade Organization's report indicates the categories of companies that qualify for the fast-track service are: a publicly listed company whose shares are traded on an internationally recognized stock exchange; a company that manufactures products that are certified by independent international agencies, and employ certified process technology, small and medium size enterprises which will be operating in the area of the IPRs registered in their names, or which are classified as innovative enterprises; and international companies which have set up regional centers in Saudi Arabia.